Education at home
As families have recently just been informed, there will be ongoing school closures until at least May 4th in the province of Ontario to allow physical distancing as we battle the Covid-19 virus. But just because the buildings are closed doesn’t mean that some amazing learning can’t happen at home! Children and families will continue to work closely with classroom teachers in an innovative new way, uncovering creative opportunities to learn and discover through online learning platforms provided and administered by teachers.
Young children will be expected to complete between 5-10 hours of learning per week, depending on grade level, with high school level students expected to complete 3 hours of work per course, per week. Classroom teachers will provide activities and assignments to complete and submit through the online platform they have selected.
Parents and caregivers now have the exciting opportunity to be part of their children’s learning in ways they never have before. When not completing the expected virtual classroom activities assigned, your children will look to you for opportunities for enrichment as we continue to practice physical distancing by staying at home. Use this opportunity to connect, learn and grow with your child -- playing games, creating art, reading books, conducting science experiments, watching educational videos and moving your bodies!
Continue to check this space as the team at Rebound will continue to update this page with fun and engaging activities for your children and family that can be done in the comfort and safety of your home. Happy exploring!
This is an excellent article written on the site that will put your mind at ease and prepare you – even excite you! – as you embark on this new journey with your children: https://thecanadianhomeschooler.com/suddenly-homeschooling/
Getting started with learning at home
Do you suddenly find yourself in the unlikely role of a ‘homeschool parent’? You’re not alone! In Canada, it is estimated that nearly 100,000 children are homeschooled – by choice, that is. Not sure of what to do? Start here – https://thecanadianhomeschooler.com supports homeschooling families, and right now they are offering free registrations and access to the site’s materials. Their team have put together a handy guide to get you on your way, including an FAQ section, some fun online links to keep kids busy and engaged, links to free online classes, and a complete set of suggested activities by grade and subject, including free printables. Take some time to acquaint yourself with all the site has to offer, including a complete checklist of curriculum expectations by grade. Find the checklist here: https://shop.thecanadianhomeschooler.com/curriculum-checklists/. If you have older children, they should be able to tell you what they have and have not completed this school year.
Free Fitness Classes!
YMCA Northumberland may have closed the doors of their physical location, but they continue to offer the families of Northumberland lots of opportunities to stay fit and engaged. ‘Like’ the YMCA Northumberland on Facebook, and your family will be treated to daily live stream exercise classes with the instructors you know and love, virtual storytelling and lots of arts and crafts activity suggestions for the whole family to enjoy.
In addition, your YMCA is also proud to offer Y Thrive Home, a free online portal of YMCA fitness classes from instructors across Canada. Choose from balance, endurance, core, yoga, low impact, stretching or resistance training. These are a great addition to the physical activity options currently offered by classroom teachers!
Videos are generally directly towards adult populations, but the ‘Grow’ page contains exercise classes specifically designed for children and youth.
CBC Education Portal
CBC has opened up their curated subscription-based educational portal to the public free of charge during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it is fantastic! Perfect for Canadian students of all ages, the site is laid out in an easy-to-navigate format and includes both new and archived educational shows, films and short videos, news stories and articles about a variety of fascinating and important topics in all school subject streams. Always wanted to show your kids episodes of ‘Canada: A People’s History’ from your childhood? You’ve found them now! This is the perfect site for parents who are looking to supplement their child’s learning with enriching content that will keep them learning about topics they might not hear about in the classroom, or for older students who are interested in specific topics and want to use their time at home pursuing more knowledge about them. There are also handy learning guides to reference if you’re interested in using the site as a formal learning opportunity for your children. Each resource is categorized by time, subject and appropriate age for ease of use. Explore the ‘Resources’ tab on the top right side to find resources that directly connect to what your child is learning in school by grade and subject!
It’s also fully bilingual, so use the site to enhance your child’s reading and listening comprehension in French as they learn! This is GREAT screen time!
Note: There is a wonderful resource under the ‘Collections’ tab at the top with child-appropriate articles and videos explaining Coronavirus and ways for kids to stay healthy and busy during this time. https://curio.ca/en/
Virtual travel!
Spending all this extra time at home with loved ones means you get the opportunity to do something pretty amazing -- travel the world! Satisfy your wanderlust by exploring the seven wonders of the world, world-class museums, zoos and landmarks, take virtual hikes on some of the world's best trails, take a digital safari through some of the world's lushest locales, or even take in a world-famous Broadway show! Dozens and dozens of incredible links have been compiled by the travel company Lonely Planet. Find them here. Bon voyage!
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/virtual-tours-travel-destinations
Library card advantages
Does your family have a Cobourg Public Library card? The brick and mortar library may be closed for now, but your card is your ticket to an online treasure trove. Take advantage of numerous cloud-based online book services, including OverDrive, Libby and EBSCO ebook – hundreds of free online and audio books for all ages, all at the touch of a button.
Your library card also gives you unfettered access to the Tumblebook online library, which is a classroom favourite far and wide. Children can choose from hundreds of classic book titles to read themselves, or be read to them. There are many French titles to choose from as well!
Connect on CPL’s socials to take part in their online book clubs, storytime, contests and challenges.
Don’t have a library card? Read the library April newsletter to learn how to fix that!
Thank you for everything you do, CPL!
Indoor and outdoor activities
Scouts in the United Kingdom has curated a gigantic list of indoor activities that are sure to keep your kids completely engaged and learning. Choose activities by timeframe, group size and cost. Each activity has a detailed description of materials needed, safety considerations and detailed step-by-step instructions. There are even suggested modifications to adjust the challenge level.
Each challenge has a thoughtful reflection section that explains what children learn through completing the challenge and offers suggestions on ways for caregivers to engage through the process.
For additional fun, have your kids earn badges as they complete each challenge! Visit this link to learn more: https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/
Free lessons for math, science, and humanities
Khan Academy is a free resource for students of all ages, teachers, and parents. https://www.khanacademy.org/
Khan offers free lessons in math, science and humanities from kindergarten through the early years of college. Students can use the exercises, quizzes, and instructional videos to learn and master skills. They will get immediate feedback and encouragement, all at no cost.
In the midst of the school closures, Khan has put together a multitude of additional resources that you will find directly on their homepage, accessible through the pop-up as the page loads, as well as at the top of the home screen. These resources include a parent resource section as well as a learner resource section and daily live streams of lessons on a variety of topics. For those families struggling to structure their days at home, Khan has also included a series of sample schedules by age group that ensure children receive enough learning, activity and rest time. Find them here! https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSZhOdEPAWjUQpqDkVAlJrFwxxZ9Sa6zGOq0CNRms6Z7DZNq-tQWS3OhuVCUbh_-P-WmksHAzbsrk9d/pub
Art classes
Here is a fabulous compiled list from the blog 'Homeschool Hideout' which contains 12 different YouTube channels devoted to Art Lessons for all ages and abilities.
https://homeschoolhideout.com/art-lessons-on-youtube/
Make learning fun!
Still looking for resources to keep your kids busy and learning? The American website Have Fun Teaching is a popular one in classrooms, offering worksheets on every imaginable topic from Kindergarten to Grade 5. Subscriptions for the basic service are free, and if you follow this link, the HFT team have produced Coronavirus relief packages by grade that might be exactly what you're looking for, containing worksheets, activities, songs and videos. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the links to download. Take a look!
https://www.havefunteaching.com/fifth-grade/are-you-ready-for-teaching-at-home
Free elementary resources
Ed Helper is another website catering to Kindergarten to Grade 6 (but with resources right up into the high school grades) that is very popular with teachers -- so your kids might already be familiar with the site and resources. The site is for-profit, charging $19.99 per year for a basic subscription, but are offering a massive selection of free resources during the school shutdown to assist families. Find them here! https://www.edhelper.com/teacher-education/Daily-Free-Learning-Workbooks-for-Teachers-to-Share-with-Parents-while-Schools-are-Closed-Kids-will-actually-do-these.htm
This package of worksheets in particular can help structure your day if you have very young learners: https://www.edhelper.com/kids-at-home-challenges-art-reading-movement.pdf
Physical activity
Does your child need to get some physical activity in their day, or even a short body break between activities as home? Ask them about GoNoodle, and watch their faces light up! GoNoodle is THE choice for primary and junior teachers who want to offer their students quality physical activity breaks in the classroom, so your child might even be able to tell you their favourite videos. All you need is the space you're standing on, so this website is ideal for small spaces. No equipment needed! Sign up for a free family membership today, and this site will surely become one of your family's favourite ways to pass the time inside. Tip: connect it to your television if you can!
Also check out these activities offered by the YMCA: https://ythrive.ca/videos
Storytelling and yoga
Are you looking to find a little 'zen' with your kids today, or just looking to have a little storytelling fun? Look no further than Cosmic Kids, a truly fantastic yoga experience for kids of all ages. Instructor Jaime Amor has created dozens of themed yoga videos that are engaging, fun, energizing, yet require very little space. Take Harry Potter's Journey in the Philosopher's Stone, play out Anna and Elsa's Frozen adventure, or play the part of Moana, all through guided yoga, mindfulness and relaxation exercises. This is truly healthy screentime for the 21st century! Tip: For the full experience, connect your device to your television if you can. https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga Here is the main Cosmic Kids website, full of many additional resources (most for a fee): https://www.cosmickids.com/
Learning with music
If you have little ones at home, they probably already know Jack Hartmann. His YouTube channel of engaging literacy and numeracy songs (most with physical activity involved) have been entertaining and teaching pre-K and kindergarten children for years. He is a staple in Kindergarten classrooms. Go grab your best polo button down and get ready to have a blast singing, dancing and learning with your children. But be warned -- his songs will be stuck in your head all day long.
https://www.youtube.com/user/JackHartmann